Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on PDCO. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $31.35 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Patterson Companies in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Patterson Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PDCO opened at $30.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.19. Patterson Companies has a 1 year low of $19.45 and a 1 year high of $31.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. Patterson Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Patterson Companies will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson Companies

In other news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total value of $45,282.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,746.88. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PDCO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Patterson Companies by 103.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 2,084.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 20.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Patterson Companies by 32.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Patterson Companies Company Profile

Patterson Companies, Inc engages in the distribution of dental and animal health products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company operates through three segments: Dental, Animal Health, and Corporate segments. The Dental segment offers consumable products, including infection control, restorative materials, and instruments; basic and advanced technology and dental equipment; practice optimization solutions, such as practice management software, e-commerce, revenue cycle management, patient engagement solutions, and clinical and patient education systems.